Fixture for marking indicia on curved objects



Jan. 4, 1966 H. SZCZEPANSKI FIXTURE FOR MARKING INDICIA ON CURVED OBJECTS Filed Jan. 29, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. HARRY SZCZEPANSK/ 3,227,071 FIXTURE FOR MARKING INDICIA ON CURVED OBJECTS Filed Jan. 29, 1964 Jan. 4, 1966 H. SZCZEPANSKI 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HARP Y 82 CZE PA NSK/ lam/226M HHS Jan. 4, 1966 FIXTURE FOR MARKING INDICIA ON CURVED OBJECTS H. SZCIZZEPANSKI 3,227,071

Filed Jan. 29, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 40 INVENTOR. A /2 HA RR) SZCZEPA IVSK/ ll BY Jan. 4, 1966 H. SZCZEPANSKI 3,227,071

FIXTURE FOR MARKING INDICIA ON CURVED OBJECTS //v VE/V TOR HA RRX SZOZEPANSK/ with the spherical work piece.

on the carrier. facein a tangential relationship, and deforms the plastic United States Patent-O M 3,227,071 FIXTURE FOR MARKING INDICIA ON CURVED OBJECTS .Harry Szczepanski, 900 Clancy NE, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Filed Jan. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 341,071

Claims. (Cl. 101-42 This invention relates to marking indicia on curved objects, and has been developed in connection with the problems encountered in applying reference lines and characters to the spherical elements of aircraft directional and attitude indicators. Normally, a gyroscope or a magnetic compass will maintain a reference position of an of the spherical surface must be worked on at any one time.

Applying the longitude and latitude lines without interruption requires accuracy in the successive operations, which are preferably radial movements to avoid distortion. The operations provided by this invention can be either in the nature of printing or embossing; and, in the lattercase, can be used against plastic materials or soft metals.

The spherical reference members are preferably thinwalled shells to conserve weight and material, and support 1 must be provided to prevent the walls from being deformed during the operation. This invention provides a novel arrangement for mounting these work pieces on a spindle to be received in the fixture with whatever precision may be desired, and with full support of the work piece against crushing or distortion of the walls.

The preferred form of the fixture for performing the marking operation is adapted to handle spherical work pieces of a thermoplastic material. An embossing die carrying all the indicia is laid out preferably as a straight block, and this block is supported on a reciprocating carrier which moves the block to and from engagement A mechanism is provided which accurately correlates the rotary position of the supporting spindle carrying the spherical work piece with the linear position of the die block along a guide-way The die block engages the spherical surmaterial over the small contact sector to apply the marklugs. The several features of the invention will be analyzed in further detail through discussion of the particular embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the preferred form of marking fixture embodying this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevation of the fixture shown in FIGURE 1.

1 FIGURE 3 is a section of the plane 3-3 of FIG URE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an axial section showing the mounting of l the spherical work-piece for engagement with the fixture spindle.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation showing the fixture installed in a small pneumatic press.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a workpiece as marked by the fixture.

FIGURE 7 is a bottom view of a portion of the marking die.

The spherical work-piece 19 is mounted on the spindle 11 after being prepared by a preliminary operation shown 3,227,071 ifetented Jan. 4, 1966 in FIGURE 4. The small auxiliary fixture shown in FIGURE 4 includes a base 12 and a post 13 extending upwardly from the base. The post may be secured to the base by an ordinary screw as shown at 14. The first step in the preparatory mounting of the spherical work-piece 10 is toslip it over the post 13, and then slide the collar 15 on to the post 13 to the position shown. No other components are present on the post at that time. Preferably, the lower extremity of the collar 15 is bevelled as shown at 16 to engage the adjacent opening in the spherical workpiece 10 to maintain relative concentricity. After the collar 15 is in place, a resilient O ring 17 'is slipped down on to the top of the collar 15, and the closure member 18 is then assembled to the post 13. The spring 19 applies a downward force against the closure member 18, and is held in place by the disc 20 secured to the end of the post 13 by the thumb screw 21. An access opening is provided at 22 in the side of the closure member 18; and when the unit is fully assembled as shown in FIGURE 4, a low melting-point alloy is poured in the molten condition through the opening 22 to fully occupythe space between the collar 15 and the spherical member 10. Thealloy material is indicated at 23, and provides full support for the wall of the spherical shell after the alloy has solidified. The alloy materials suitable for this operation are wellknown, and many are available which will melt at below the boiling point of water. The particular alloy to. be selected should be of a low enough melting point so that it will not cause excessive softening of the thermo-plastic material of which the shell 1% is made.

After-the alloy 23 has solidified, the thumb screw 21 may be removed followed by the removal of the disc 20, the spring 19, and the closure member 18. The assembly including the work-piece 10, the solidified all-0y 23and the collar 15 may be removed as a unit. This unit is then installed on the shaft 11 of the marking fixture. This shaft is supported in the permanent bearings 24 and 25 in the block 26, and also by the disengageable bearing structure indicated at 27 in FIGURE 3. This structure centers in the gates 28 and 29 pivotally mounted on the bolts 30 and 31, respectively, which engage the base 32. The U-shaped bar 34 can be swung upwardly and clock-wise (as shown in FIGURE 2) about its pivot connection 35 on the gate 28. When thus swung outof engagement with the top edge of the gate 29, both gates are free to swing outward and thus admit the work-piece assembly. When the gates are again swung back into the position shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3, the two gates 28 and 29 define between them a bearing support for receiving theshaft 11. This arrangement eliminates the necessity for a. rigid cantilever mounting of the shaft 33 exclusively bythe bearings 24 and 25.

Preferably, a plate 36 is secured to the base 32 by the screws 37 as a supporting surface of the under side of the gates 28 and 2 9. The edge of the plate 36 is bevelled as shown at 38 to facilitate the closing of the gatesj28 and 29 under a close enough fit to eliminate clearance under these gates and provide the desired degree of support. Prior to the closure of the gates 28 and 29 after the insertion of the work-piece assembly generally indicated at 49, the rings 41 and 42, together with the compression spring 43, are applied between the work-piece assembly 46 and the gates 2829 to apply a continued biasing effect urging the work-piece assembly to the left to maintain the engagement of the pin 44 with a suitable aperture in the end of the work-piece assembly to secure the angular position of. the work-piece assembly 40 with repect to the shaft 11. Preferably, the end of the collar 15 is slot-ted at some convenient point to re ceive the end of the pin 44.

this wheel is engaged by a thin wire or band 46. After surrounding the periphery of the wheel 45, the ends of the band 46 extend in opposite directions. One of these is connected to the spring 47 secured to the pin 48 mounted on the plate 49. The opposite end of the strip 46 is secured to the adjusting screw 50 engaging the terminal block 51. Rotation of the screw 50 will alter the relationship between the angular position of the shaft 11 and the linear position of the plate 49 in the horizontal guide-way provided by the rollers 52 and 53 of the carrier 54. The rollers 52 and 53 are not absolutely necessary, and may be replaced by fixed rails. In either case, the alignment of the plate 49 is maintained between the flanges 55 and 56 of the carrier 54, and the over-all height of this portion of the assembly can be reduced by the illustrated formation of the plate 49 with the shoulders 57 and 58. Downward pressure applied by the carrier 54 will therefore be applied across the broad surface of the top of the plate 49, and the result of this arrangement is a relative freedom from the effects of wear or tolerance accumulation.

The carrier 54 is mounted on the vertical guide-way formed by the pins 59 and 60 that are fixed with respect to the base 32. The reciprocating vertical movement of the carrier 54 which induces the marking of work-piece 10 is provided by any conventional press equipment (not shown). This movement is applied to the marking die 61 by securing it to the 'plate 49, preferably by screws as shown at 49(a) in FIGURE 3.

The position of the marking die 61 is initially established by the manual control 62, which rotates the shaft 63 in the carrier 54. The gear 64 is mounted in the recess 65 of the carrier 54, and this gear engages the rack 66 mounted in the plate 49. The wheel 45 is provided with an annular group of holes for receiving the end 67 of the locating pin 68; When thus engaged, the rotative position of the shaft 11 is positively determined. The pin 63 is provided with a knob 69 which can be pulled out against the action of the spring 70 so that the end 67 can be disengaged from the wheel 45. Prefer-ably, bushings as shown at 71 and 72 are pressed into a suitable bore in the block 26, with the spring 70 acting between the bushing 72 and the portion 73 of enlarged diameter on the pin 68. To complete an accurate interrelationship between the positions of the marking die 61 and the wheel 45, the die 61 is provided with a series of vertical slots down at 74. The end 67 of the pin 68 is permitted to extend through the wheel 45 to engage one of the slots 74 which are so disposed that each hole in the wheel 45 engaged by the pin 67 will find a corresponding slot at 74 to establish an interlock between the die 61 and the wheel 45. The screw 50 may be adjusted to maintain the approximate alignment with sufficient closeness that the pin 67 will be able to engage both the wheel 45 and the block 61 for the final locating of these components. The vertical extension of the slots 74 will permit the carrier 54 to move vertically on the guide pins 59 and 60 to bring the indicia 75 of the marking die down into engagement with the surface of the spherical member 10. After the particular marking operation has been completed, the knob 69 is withdrawn, and the crank 62 is rotated to move the die block 61 to the next position. The knob 69 is then engaged, followed by a manipulation of the crank 62 which would permit the ends 67 of the pin to engage both the wheel 45 and the slot 74, and the fixture is ready for the next downward movement of the carrier 54 to mark the next sector on the work-piece.

The movement of the carrier 54 can be induced by any small conventional press, such as the pneumatic arbor press 76 shown in FIGURE 5. A base plate 77 is connected to the top plate 78 by a group of rods, two of which are shown at 79-80. An air cylinder 81 is supplied with pressure differentialsvia the conduits 82 and 83 to induce vertical movement of the piston rod 84. This movement is communicated to the carrier 54 by the coupling head 85.

It is preferable to mark close to a vertical plane containing the axis of the shaft 33, as the movement of the die is then exactly normal to the surface of the workpiece 10. Some small extension on either side of this plane may be permissible on the shorter marks shown in FIGURE 6. The convergence of the longer marks at the ends makes it desirable to do only one of these at a time. The marking die has all the lines parallel, as shown in FIGURE 7. These produce the indicia 86 shown in FIGURE 6 as the fixture is operated.

The particular embodiments of the present invention which have been illustrated and discussed here-in are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered as a limitation upon the scope of the appended claims. In these claims, it is my intent to claim the entire invention disclosed herein, except as I am limited by the prior art.

I claim:

1. A machine for marking indicia on a work-piece having compound curvature, said machine comprising:

a frame having spaced aligned bearing means, one of said bearing means being formed by separable components, said frame also having a vertical guideway referred to herein as a first guideway;

a spindle normally rotatably mounted in said bearing means and supporting a work-piece;

carrier mounted for movement along said first guideway, and having a guideway disposed transversely with respect to the axis of said bearing means referred to herein as a second guideway, said carrier also having a plate engaging said second guideway and movable therein;

a marking member movably mounted on said plate;

and

means correlating the position of said marking member along said second guideway with the angular position of said spindle,

said correlating means including a wheel mounted for rotation with said spindle, a fiexible member engaging said carrier and the periphery of said wheel, and a pin engageable with said Wheel, frame, and marking member at a plurality of relative positions thereof.

2. A machine for marking indicia on a curved workpiece, said machine comprising:

a frame having spaced aligned bearing means, one of said bearing means being movable, said frame also having a vertical guideway referred to herein as a first guideway;

a spindle normally rotatably mounted in said bearing means and supporting a work-piece;

a carrier mounted for movement along said first guideway, and having a guideway disposed transversely with respect to the axis of said bearing means referred to herein as a second guideway, said carrier also having a plate engaging said second guideway and movable therein;

a marking member movably mounted on said plate;

and

means correlating the position of said marking memher along said second guideway with the angular position of said spindle,

said correlating means including a wheel mounted for rotation with said spindle, a flexible member engaging said carrier and the periphery of said wheel, and a pin engageable with said wheel, frame, and marking member at a plurality of relative positions thereof.

3. A machine for marking indicia on a curved workpiece, said machine comprising: i

a frame having spaced aligned heating means, said frame also having a vertical guideway referred to herein as a first guideway;

a spindle normally rotatably mounted in said bearing means and supporting a Work-piece;

a carrier mounted for movement along said first guideway, and having a guideway disposed transversely with respect to the axis of said bearing means referred to herein as a second guideway, said carrier also having a plate engaging said second guideway and movable therein;

a marking member movably mounted on said plate;

and

means correlating the posit-ion of said marking memher along said second guideway with the angular position of said spindle,

said correlating means including a wheel mounted for rotation with said spindle, a flexible member engaging said carrier and the periphery of said wheel, and a pin engageable with said wheel, frame, and marking member at a plurality of relative positions thereof.

4. A machine for marking indicia on a curved workpiece, said machine comprising:

a frame having spaced aligned bearing means, said frame also having a vertical guideway referred to herein as a first guideway;

a spindle normally rotatably mounted in said bearing means and supporting a work-piece;

a carrier mounted for movement along said first guideway, and having a guideway disposed transversely with respect to the axis of said bearing means referred to herein as a second guideway, said carrier also having a plate engaging said second guideway and movable therein;

a marking member movably mounted on said plate; and

means correlating the position of said marking memher along said second guideway With the angular position of said spindle,

said correlating means including a Wheel mounted for rotation with said spindle, and a pin en- 6 gageable With said wheel, frame, and marking member at a plurality of relative positions thereof. 5. A machine for marking indicia on a curved work- 5 piece, said machine comprising:

a frame having bearing means, said frame also having a vertical guideway referred to herein as a first guideway;

a spindle normally rotatably mounted in said bearing means and supporting a Work-piece;

a carrier mounted for movement along said first guideway, and having a guideway disposed transversely with respect to the axis of said bearing means referred to herein as a second guideway, said carrier also having a plate engaging said second guideway and movable therein;

a marking imember mov-a-bly mounted on said plate; and

means correlating the position of said marking memher along said second guideway with the angular position of said spindle,

said correlating means including a wheel mounted for rotation with said spindle, and a pin interengageable with at least said Wheel and means fixed with respect to said marking member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 451,978 5/1891 Rott 101-41 744,554 11/1903 Ingram 101-38 1,647,625 11/1927 Higgins et a1. 101--44 1,814,312 7/1931 Heene 101-4 X 1,921,571 8/1933 Jones 10 1-4 X 2,016,913 10/1935 Uriwal 10132 2,183,230 12/1939 Treece et a1 10138 2,539,303 1/1951 Gerke 101 32 2,590,456 3/1952 Pneuman et a1. 10144 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM B. PENN, Examiner. 

5. A MACHINE FOR MARKING INDICIA ON A CURVED WORKPIECE, SAID MACHINE COMPRISING: A FRAME HAVING BEARING MEANS, SAID FRAME ALSO HAVING A VERTICAL GUIDEWAY REFERRED TO HEREIN AS A FIRST GUIDEWAY; A SPINDLE NORMALLY ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID BEARING MEANS AND SUPPORTING A WORK-PIECE; A CARRIER MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT ALONG SAID FIRST GUIDEWAY, AND HAVING A GUIDEWAY DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIS OF SAID BEARING MEANS REFERRED TO HEREIN AS A SECOND GUIDEWAY, SAID CARRIER ALSO HAVING A PLATE ENGAGING SAID SECOND GUIDEWAY AND MOVABLE THEREIN; A MARKING MEMBER MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE; AND MEANS CORRELATING THE POSITION OF SAID MARKING MEM- 